Has God ever just answered a prayer that you needed so badly?

[whenthedreamhappens]

Dh a do have been going through a terrible time with an incident that happened in work 5 years ago. It was a horrendous, difficult time. My husband was basically suicidal. Although this was such a time of trial, Gods hand was always upon us, guiding us even tho we didn't see it, and to us the days still seemed dark. After lots of prayer and years worth of worry we got a solicitor letter (out if the blue) basically withdrawing any wrong doing ir any allegations , on the same day that DH received a job offer from a dream job opportunity. We have received multiple, countless blessing that have come at EXACTLY the right time. It has been incredibly difficult yet incredibly comforting that God has always guided us through our trials and made things possible that just wouldn't have been so without intervention. Today we have received another wonderful blessing.

Why is it that hope is so offensive to people they feel obliged to make an attempt to smash it down?

Don't! Many people live by hope. I need to. I have had cancer (still here). I have had several of my relatives die, some by cancer. My child was said at one point to have 'severe learning difficulties'. They are now studying at university and hoping to make a career in research. I have lived through redundancy, seen people close to me suffer from mental health problems. And what I would say?

Hope is important.

Hebrews 11:1
"Faith in Action
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (NIV)

And having faith means being confident about our hopes.

Where is anyone here offended by or smashing down hope?

@saraclara, to answer your question, it is in the countering of positive narratives, concerning prayer with negative more tragic ones.

And yet, we don't have context. We don't know whether the hopes and faith were differently placed or how people could still have a completed their lives in a worthwhile fashion despite tragic events. Or how those tragic events mights have been intertwined with meaning within a person's life. So it is there, I place my hope.

I'd like to link this piece of music.

It really moved me.

People have a much right to share negative stories as they do positive ones.

People have a much right to share negative stories as they do positive ones.

Of course they do. But I was asking about why they want to. What is it that makes people want to share a negative story in amongst hopeful positive ones?

..although I did say ''Don't!' Sorry. I just am interested to know how it is important to risk dashing other's hopes with a negative story. I'm sure there is a reason but cannot quite grasp it fully,

The OP asked a question. Sometimes the answer to that question will be no.

@AnorLondo, I get that but are we talking about God not answering prayers here or not praying in the first or not getting the expected answer/ outcome or not one soon enough for the person's liking?

If prayer is a request, assuming God is God and knows everything, the request might just not be at the right time or granting it might be something that is not the best thing to bring closer the whole of humanity's unity with God.

And if so, is a prayer request not being granted or granted quickly not an answer?

I know this is an old thread but I really struggle with this. A close family friend who dedicated her life to her church and god ended up with horrific end stage cancer - she died in pain a couple of weeks later

@disneydreaming101, sorry for your loss.

One thing to think about would be 'Does being ill and in pain preclude a person from God's love?' I would suggest not.

Finding meaning in pain is incredibly difficult but people do and have throughout history. I have had cancer myself and have had several close family members die from cancer. But somehow this fact makes me feel no less loved by God...if anything it brought me closer to God., I feel, somehow. Not easy to put into words, why, though.

No.

As a child I prayed daily, almost hourly for my dad to live. He didn’t.
Then I prayed for my mum to stop drinking. She didn’t.
I prayed that me and my brother wouldn’t have to go to the awful abusive family we were forced to stay with. Didn’t happen either.

Eventually you stop praying or you wonder if God has it in for you. 🤣

Yes. I don't care if people don't believe me either. Whether it was God or some other medium, I got a sign.

I shared because I genuinely believed from age 8-25 that if I prayed for something to happen, whatever God existed would go out of his way to stop it happening. I became so very insecure in myself because I thought I was cursed and God must hate me. Or be punishing me (a child!) by killing my dad and making people abuse me.

Once I realised praying and belief in a god did nothing for me except cripple me emotionally, I was better. Other people have the right to come to that realisation and free themselves from it too.

I shared because I genuinely believed from age 8-25 that if I prayed for something to happen, whatever God existed would go out of his way to stop it happening. I became so very insecure in myself because I thought I was cursed and God must hate me. Or be punishing me (a child!) by killing my dad and making people abuse me.

That is desperately sad @SisterAgatha . I'm so sorry you went through that. You have every right to share your experience.

I shared because I genuinely believed from age 8-25 that if I prayed for something to happen, whatever God existed would go out of his way to stop it happening. I became so very insecure in myself because I thought I was cursed and God must hate me. Or be punishing me (a child!) by killing my dad and making people abuse me.

I don't believe you were being punished or were cursed by God. The human race has flaws, accidents happen, people get sick and have their own delusions and erroneous impulses which can lead to a great deal of trauma. That's simply my belief, though. The meaning in your own experiences are your's to find.

Other people have the right to come to that realisation and free themselves from it too.

But what if it just isn't their experience? What if ' freeing themselves' in the way you describe doesn't feel like any real freedom at all? What if a life without prayer and belief in God makes them feel trapped and at the mercy the word's economic systems and consumerism - enslaved within them. Where every solution is sold for a price and dependency upon consumership is created in order to continue to profit from hurting people.

That is desperately sad @SisterAgatha . I'm so sorry you went through that. You have every right to share your experience.

And I absolutely agree with this too.

Sorry, it is plain that sharing trauma is undoubtedly a need within people. Which more than answers my earlier question.

I'm just thankful to God every day for small mercies. Just imagine if spiders were as big as cars or people like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy were the norm and nice people were the exception! Or we only had something like Snozzcumbers to eat rather than the amazing variety we have got. Count your blessings I say.

I think the reason we sometimes have the false sense that God is so far away is because that is where we have put him. We have kept him at a distance, and then when we are in need and call on him in prayer, we wonder where he is. He is exactly where we left him.
Ravi Zacharias

I prayed for the safe delivery of my child whilst on pilgrimage to Mecca. She died. So many things fucked up as a consequence after that. I don’t believe God likes me very much.

That’s hard to cope with.
Sorry for the loss of your Daughter.

As a teenagers in a choir we helped paint the inside of an old church- the ladders were flimsy.
Mum said “If you fell off, would you go straight to Heaven?”
The thought made me brave on those ladders.
I had faith in those days.

Terrible things happen to people on Pilgrimage
A crane that crashed down in a storm, killing innocent people, including children-
One has to wonder about stuff like this.

Thank you @oakleaffy . I think it’s precisely because I had the made the pilgrimage to the holiest of sites during my pregnancy did it hit me hard. I heard so many platitudes afterwards like God only tests those He loves; He doesn’t burden you with more than you can bear.

What a test. I certainly couldn’t bear that loss, made all the worse precisely because I prayed so hard. And now I wonder why God needs us to beg to Him for assistance. I look at deeply devout people who still suffer and have the same shitty experiences as the rest of us. Prayer is a coping mechansim through which hope is channeled. But where to turn when hope extinguishes?

Honestly I wouldn’t worry about it. The atheists on this site certainly don’t make me want to drop my faith and join their ranks - quite the opposite. They come across as intolerant. I think they have actually pointed more people towards Christianity than Nicky Gumbell 😁

If God exits he’s a fucking nasty bastard. The so called Christian’s I’ve known have also been nasty bastards. Count me out.